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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · race · stock · drill · scale · court · can · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. court — of a king
  3. face — part of the head
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. face — to confront
  7. scale — in music
  8. drill — the tool
  9. court — for sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. court — of law
  12. drill — army training
  13. can — to be able to
  14. stock — goods
  15. face — to point toward
  16. can — a tin
  17. race — the arms race
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. drill — a practice
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. can — a tin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com